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at a loss

i have a 83 gl wagon and it has nooo power. i know the 81 engine was gutless to begin with so i guess my question is will it be enough motor to turn over 32s off my friends chevy. and if i do upgrade where oh where can i find a engine suitable for bigger tires and playing in some mud? i live in iowa and can find soob parts anywhere.:-\

i have a 83 gl wagon and it has nooo power. i know the 81 engine was gutless to begin with so i guess my question is will it be enough motor to turn over 32s off my friends chevy.

I think you've just answered your own question right there in that first line...

Adding larger tyres is always going to stress the drive train more than the stock units - thus the weakest link is going to die first if it can't keep up, in this case it sounds like your EA81 won't turn those wheels the way you hope it will.

Either look into freshening up the engine (rebuild) with a sweet cam grind to match with a weber OR go the EJ route. I know the EJ and 27's goes alright over the stock 23's, but I think 32s would be an ask as well without playing around with gearbox diff ratios etc. An EJ AWD 3.7 ratio gearbox with 4.44 diffs swapped in would probably be the best way to go IMO.

The question is: How much time and effort do you really want to put into this?

well...... seems like a lot more work than i really have the knowledge to do. thanks for the input. maybe i should rethink my plans and come up with a more realistic and reliable method for making my toy/dd. also i meant to say since i live in iowa i CAN'T find parts anywhere, and honestly i dont even know what parts i need to do anything. i can mess with v8's and solid axles but this flat 4, independant stuff is tricky to me. i have this vision in mind but just not real sure how to go about it, ive read a lot of threads and im sure its all good stuff im sure IF i knew what people were talking about lol (new to the soobie world). anyways i appreciate ur advice:)

hello my name is chad and im interested in your engine. i just started a swap with the removing of the ea82 from my 87 gl wagon and am attempting to install a ea81 like yours into it. like you, ive always messed around v8s and old vw bugs that have like 30 parts to the whole engine and 7 wires, but im having troubles with the brackets being different and holes in diffrent locations so im not sure if the location of the alternator and ac compressor is different- can you describe your engine and pulleys to me? or a txt pic or email however you could clarify this would be sooo helpful. and by the way those are mighty big tyres your talking about turning in circles- real hard on wheel bearings and other light duty parts great luck to you and thanks for any help call me at 208 989 5641if needed